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Tanizaki Kazuo
The skillful fighter puts himself into a position '' which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy. Tanizaki Kazuo is the head of Tanizaki Heavy Industries Profile Appearance Kazuo wears a simple black business suit. His black hair has a few slight flecks of grey in it, and he has merciless, coal-black eyes. Biography The Dark Lords Ascendant Chapter 1: Before the Storm Wanting a challenge Kazuo hired the freelance assassin Ariwara Akio to kill him. Unfortunately Akio proved to be little more then a distraction even when Kazuo’s dismissal of him ignited the assassin’s anger causing him to unleash his ultimate technique. He was able to defeat him with casual ease and left him on the floor sobbing in agony, it here that Kazuo revealed to Akio that he was the one who hired him. Knowing that death was only moments away the assassin tried begging for his life. At the words, Kazuo refused to dirty his hands and had Zhang kill him instead. As he went back to looking over his worldwide influence Zhang apologized for how weak Akio turned out to be, but as he had never really expected much to begin with his dismissed it. The discussion of finding a worthy opponent brought the conversation to Doctor Metzger and his experiments. Zhang informed him that he has finished his physical evaluation of Unit Zero, and Ekim will shortly complete his testing of the mystical aspects. Chapter 4: Failure to Communicate Kazuo and Zhang’s first stop of the day was to Mr. Nagai who confirmed that the Russian-owned Tochnost Armaments one of the countless businesses that Kazuo controlled through an elaborate series of shell corporations and legal sleight of hand would be banned from selling to Africa warlords. However Kazuo knew full well the UN would eventually place sanctions on them, which would allow him to start selling the weapons through his black market dealers at a vastly inflated price. Their next stop was Ekim. The thaumaturgic binding for Unit Zero weren’t done yet and Kazuo wanted to know why. Ignoring the theriatrics as they entered his chambers they found him sitting at an alter with his back turned to them. Ekim was furious at the notion the he had failed but once again Kazuo ignored the theriatrics and threatened to replace him. The notion that he was somehow inferior nearly caused Ekim to attack Kazuo only to be stopped by him flooding the room with killing intent. Kuzuo told Ekim that under no uncertain terms he needed to stop dragging his feet. Unable to hide his fear Ekim agreed. After they left Kuzuo chastise himself for still allowing Ekim’s childish egotism to effect him. Zhang who knew just how difficult Ekim was offered his employer his sympathy. Kazuo was perfectly aware why Ekim was late in his assignment and had already taken steps to stop him. Their next stop was to go see Doctor Metzger. However they were interrupted by Captain Davidson demanding to know when he and his men would see action. The mercenaries were not only getting restless but going through withdrawals. One of the mercenaries tried to attack him, but was quickly incapacitated. This caused the others to back down and drag their still screaming companion out. They found Metzger as he was experimenting on a Daimon. Kazuo had come to Metzger because of his recommendation to perform another test run on Unit Zero at a higher limiter release. Since they had never exceeded ten percent this was a massive request. Metzger knew this, but since a lot dealt with mysticism he needed to be sure of all flaw. Hearing the dismissal in his employer's voice when he thanked him Metzger went back to the operating table. However he did inform him that the Project Janus learned that the Sailor Senshi were going to have a scuffle later that afternoon. Kazuo and Zhang left to the pleading sobs of the Daimon. While Project Janus wasn’t always reliable Kazuo still had a surveillance team stake out the area just in case. Hours later Kazuo was being informed of the battle between Ranma and the Senshi. He recognized Ranma’s name as he had grown quite renowned in martial arts circles. There was also the rumors about him during the lost year. Ranma’s involvement with the Senshi gave proof to those rumors and thus opened up possibilities for them. Wanting to know when Ranma would next clash with the Sailor Senshi Kazuo had Zhang contact Metzger and tell him to put as much pressure on Project Janus as he could. Another fight between the two would provide Metzger the perfect opportunity to perform his test. Chapter 5: The Opening Moves After getting what he could from the Janus Project Doctor Metzger called Kazuo, Zhang and Ekim to inform them that Ranma and the Senshi would be fighting in an abandoned warehouse. He also warned that Sailor Saturn would be there. Zhang pointed out that this could be a good thing. Kazuo agreed so had Doctor Metzger deploy a full squad of Synths to the area where Sailor Saturn will be fighting, while having Zhang watch for opportunities to do the test run of Unit Zero without drawing suspicions. Chapter 6: Best Laid Plans Zhang watched from concealment the battle between the Senshi and NWC waiting for the perfect opportunity to test Unit Zero. His opportunity came when Sailor Moon transformed into Princess Serenity forcing Ranma to surrender. The instant Kazuo lowered the thaumaturgic inhibitors, Unit Zero attacked Sailor Moon with a ferocity ''far exceeding all projections. Doctor Metzger and Ekim were barely able to bring the inhibitors back up and stabilize the connection before irreparable damage was caused. At the same time he sent a bunch of Synth’s to get a sample of Sailor Saturn’s blood, but that operation failed do to the intervention of Ryoga. Zhang was discussing the results of the testing with Kazuo when they were interrupted by the arrival of Ranma, Mousse and Konatsu. Zhang wasn’t confident that he could kill all of them, and even if he could he would just be killing their pawns so Kazuo opted to talk to them instead. He offered to meet with Ranma face to face. While Ranma didn’t trust him he agreed as he wanted to get to the bottom of things. Mousse finally recognized Zhang as they were about to follow him to Kazuo’s location. Zhang stood there taunting an enraged Mousse as Ranma tried to hold him back. Eventually he broke free of Ranma and attacked, only for his attacked to be casually deflected. Ranma waited for the right moment to intervene in the fierce struggle, which Zhang provided when he began attacking. Ranma knocked Mousse away before Zhang could strike him and he focused his attention on Ranma Konatsu appeared behind him with his sword to his throat. Zhang had made no move to even defend himself against the new attackers, or to continue his own attack. So Ranma focused on calming Mousse down. He decided to go with Zhang alone telling Mousse and Konatsu to held back and if they didn’t hear back from him by the end of the day to find the Senshi and tell them what happened. Reluctantly the two agreed. Chapter 7: Among the Enemy Kazuo once again called Nagai into the conference room, to ask him to sit in on his meeting with Ranma as a way to gain his trust. While Ekim didn’t know why they were going through so much trouble for little more then pawns. Kazuo felt this was the best way to keep the Senshi out of their hairs. Though he did assure them he had other options if Ranma refused to cooperate. When Zhang led Ranma into the conference room he instantly picked out Tanizaki Kazuo. As Ranma adjusted himself to the resources Kazuo had he introduced him to Nagai, Ekim, and Metzger. Kazuo explained that after hearing about Sailor Moon rewriting reality he’s spent the last three years trying to come up with a countermeasure to that power, and apologized Ranma and his friend getting mixed up in it. Naturally Ranma didn’t believe a word he said but agreed to along with keeping the Senshi’s attention so that he could learn what Kazuo was really after. The first place Kazuo took Ranma to was Ekim’s work station. Ranma walked through the rows upon rows of tomes, incense, magic circles and the like that Tanizaki had collected feeling his skin crawl a little as he did. Ranma tried to warn them about how dangerous magic was only to lose interest when Ekim feeling insulted started bragging about being the Chosen of the Nameless One, however he regained it again when Kazuo mentioned that with all the magical knowledge the gained they could break curses. Realizing how much Kazuo had done his homework Ranma listened as he continued his tour. Kazuo didn’t show him anything with a direct bearing, just pointless distractions, as well as revealing how much he knew about him and the others. The next place Kazuo took them to was the domain of Doctor Metzger. Metzger showed Ranma the Synths and Kazuo told him that Ryoga had been hurt in a fight with them. Though he made it seem like they were sent to rescue him from Sailor Saturn and Ryoga misunderstood their intensions. As worry over Ryoga gnawed at Ranma Metzger led them to Captain Davidson and his mercenaries. Davidson was sparing with a Synth and noticed the group after killing it. After hearing that Ranma was a potential new hire Captain Davidson, became enraged and accused Kazuo of trying to replace him and his men. He became even more so when Kazuo stated that even with the serum they weren’t a match for Ranma. His aim was to provoke a fight between the two so he could see Ranma in combat. He apologized for his employees’ inexcusable behavior when Davidson attacked Ranma and was easily defeated, but Ranma shrugged it off as he was more focused on the Synth that Davidson had been fighting. Leaving the others behind Kazuo took Ranma to the lair Wyrmspawn, before taking him to his personal office so that Ranma could give him his answer. By this point Ranma had figured out that Kazuo’s plan wasn’t to create a countermeasure to Sailor Moon but to steal her abilities for himself. While Kuzuo still tried to convince Ranma of his sincerity, the fact that he’d already been stabbed in the back he wasn’t buying it. With his decision made the two fight with Kazuo promising to confess his entire plan to Sailor Moon if Ranma won. Nothing Ranma did allowed him to gain the upper hand all techniques were blocked and openings were quickly closed. In the end Ranma ended up with Kazuo’s two fingers an inch away from his eye. However instead of finishing off Kazuo let him go. During the fight Kazuo was able to cut off a piece of Ranma’s pigtail which he had Zhang give it to Ekim to perform a spell on Ranma. Chapter 9: Worth Fighting For Tanizaki Kazuo, with Zhang watched as Ekim finished the spell to possess Ranma when Ekim sensed Sailor Neptune attempting to scry the building. Since they were just investigating at this point Kazuo decided no to waste any resources. Unfortunately not only had Metzger’s brush with Davidson shook him, but they lost a few other key scientists in the breakout. Though he reframed having Zhang go after them since he was convinced that Ranma would return. Since he considered Usagi and Ami his biggest threat and not wanting to attack Usagi directly just yet he had Ekim go and attack Ami once his spell was complete. Chapter 10: Ties That Bind When Ekim returned only to inform him that not only was he unable to deal with Sailor Mercury, but she had figured out that everything Ranma had said about a third party was true. Naturally Tanizaki became absolutely livid and backhanded Ekim across the room before slamming him into the wall. Though he managed to get his anger under control before killing him. Ekim having never seen Tanizaki lose his composure in such a way desperately tried to convince him all wasn’t lost. Deciding on another tactic Tanizaki gave Ekim one more chance by having him kill Usagi’s friend Naru in order to buy more time. After Ekim left Kazuo went to check up on Dr Metzger’s progress. Finding Metzger asleep in his office Kazuo woke him up and asked what the progress on Unit Zero was. Since they no longer needed to focus on stealth Kazuo had him perform another live test. When the test proved successful Kazuo allowed himself a thin smile. While Metzger was worried that the stability met that Sailor Moon could resist it, Kazuo wasn’t as he fully expected a confrontation between her and Unit Zero to happen eventually. Chapter 11: Clearing the Air Tanizaki Kazuo gathered Zhang, Doctor Metzger, Nagai, and Ekim to the conference room table to discuss the Senshi finding out about their deception. Zhang was the most relaxed of them, the Chinese assassin regarding the meeting with curiosity, but no alarm. Metzger, who knew most of what Tanizaki was about to say, shifted in place with a restless mixture of excitement and anxiety. Nagai, Tanizaki's political assistant, was completely in the dark, chewing his lower lip as he tried to figure out what was going on. And Ekim looked miserable. The backlash from having his possession of Ranma forcibly terminated by Sailor Moon's holy power had not been kind to the sorcerer. A combination of him being ashamed of letting his temper get the better of him and the fact that Unit Zero was ready met that he was not angry by this fact. He realized that they most likely wouldn’t be getting Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Saturn’s blood so ordered them to be eliminated. Though he felt that it would be best to have them come to them. Metzger was going to have his people interrogate Project Janus or the time and nature of their attack only to be stopped by Tanizaki who found it suspicious that he consistently failed to predict major events that would have been invaluable to know about. The fact that he did predict something that would have blown over if they didn’t intervene made Tanizaki think that he had planned it. Metzger was skeptical since Ryo’s precognition wasn’t really that strong. However Tanizaki was no longer convinced of that. Either Ryo was to weak to be useful or was a grave threat so ordered him to be killed. Metzger became furious that one of his test subjects had been manipulating him so saw to it personally. Chapter 12: On the Offensive Hours after being informed what happened at the Dark Kingdom and hearing nothing from Doctor Metzger Tanizaki did his best to suppress the fury that was burning within him. Zhang tried to apologize blaming himself for negligence, but Tanizaki disreguarded it knowing that even he couldn’t slipped through the portal undetected. Acknowledging his mistake in underestimating Ranma and the Senshi Tanizaki had solace in the fact that they still had Unit Zero so all was not lost. Chapter 13: All Fall Down Zhang informed Tanizaki of the fighters he was able to recruit. While they were barely stronger than the Synths, they were still bodies to throw at their opponents. Tanizaki was more worried counteracting the tactics the senshi would use not willing to make the same mistake he had with the Dark Kingdom base. Theorizing they would hit places at the same time he spread his forces out, while he guarded Unit Zero personally. So when informed that a group of fourteen martial artists and Sailor Senshi has exited the Dark Kingdom portal he had his forced placed on high alert. Tanizaki waited for the Senshi in the Synth factory. When they arrived Sailor Moon stopped Ranma from attacking him and tried to talk Tanizaki agreed and while he listened respectfully as Moon tried to convince him to stop he assured her that a peaceful solution was not possible. He refused the accept inferiority to some 'greater being', no matter how generous or benevolent they may be. The conversation ended when he revealed how he would gain control of the Ginzuishō by bringing out Unit Zero. While Sailor Pluto was horrified that such a creature existed Moon was disgusted by what the lengths Tanizaki had gone through to get Unit Zero under his control. Removing the gauntlets that kept her from succumbing to having no star seed Tanizaki forced Unit Zero and Sailor Moon to fight for control of the crystal. Sailor Pluto attempted to kill the clone only for her attack to be blocked. Ranma in turn attacked. Unfortunately Tanizaki was prepared for Ranma as well and pulled out a cat to incapacitate him. Pluto and Kamen attacked Unit Zero in a desperate attempt to stop her from leeching more power from the Silver Crystal. While they were met with no more success than before Sailor Moon was able to force herself to block the clones counterattack. She then tackled her away from everyone. Tuxedo Kamen tried to rush after them only to be stopped by Tanizaki.The three proved to be no match for Tanizaki Tuxedo Kamen was left as a crumpled at Tanizaki’s feet while a bruised, broken and bleeding Pluto was tossed over the side. Shampoo was able to hold her own, but even she had not escaped unscathed. Through it all Ranma watched from the far end of the metal bridge, only a constant struggle of his will that kept him from running as Tanizaki kept the cat held within his arm. Bored an unscathed Tanizaki offered Shampoo an ultimatum. They both knew that he could easily kill her so he offered to give her Ranma when he remakes the world in his image. hampoo refuses Tanizaki's offer and reengaged him fully expecting to die. However, Ranma manages to fight off his fear and strikes Tanizaki away before he can actually land the killing blow. Telling Shampoo to get Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Pluto out of there Ranma stayed to deal with Tanizaki himself. Ranma and Tanizaki dueled up and down the long metal walkway, trading strikes and blocks in equal proportion. The contest raged on, neither gaining a significant advantage, which changed when Tzanizaki began randomly switching styles. The fight led them to the chamber where Tanizaki held the other clones of Sailor Moon revealing how he planned to eliminate the limitation of the crystal tendency to kill its wielder. Chapter 14: In the Balance Ranma and Tanizaki’s fight was interrupted when they felt Unit Zero claim the Silver Crystal. Ranma used that distraction to turn the fight back into his favor however instead of capitalizing he used that as an opportunity to go rescue Usagi. Finding her sprawled out on the floor, unconscious with Unit Zero levitating in mid-air, clad in a flowing white dress. Ranma scooped her up her limped form and shielded her from Tanizaki’s attempts to kill her. Tanizaki angrily admonishing Unit Zero for not finishing off Sailor Moon before telling her help him kill her. Seeing the primal terror in her face Ranma knew that he was no match for the two so resorted to using the Saotome Secret Technique to get away. Instead of running after him Tanizaki tracked him by his ki and had Unit Zero attack where he told her. Annoyed at seeing Ranma and Usagi be saved by the arrival of Ryoga, Sailor Saturnand Neptune Tanizaki had Unit Zero continue attacking. Luckily Sailor Saturn proved to be faster and attacked first. Seeing Tanizaki dodge Ranma tossed Usagi at Neptune and told her to escape before launching himself at him. Ryoga hearing that Tanizaki was attempting to kill Usagi joined the fight as well. Due to his exhaustion Ranma focused more on deflecting Tanizaki’s attacks allowing Ryoga to press a punishing offensive. When Ryoga left to go help Saturn Ranma quickly realized he would be killed if he didn’t run away. When he sensed Ryouga's presence rocket out of the area he attempted to go after Saturn himself. However Tanizaki was ready for the secret technique this time and raced after him. For some reason when Tanizaki caught up to him his reaction time was slower allowing Ranma to hold his own. To overcome this new weakness Tanizaki attempted to overwhelm Ranma with a bunch of big, sweeping attacks only to fall prey to Ranma’s counterattack. Realizing he no longer had the advantage Tanizaki tried to goad Ranma to chasing him, but he didn’t fall for it and went after Saturn. When his plan to lure Ranma into a chase failed he decided to track Unit Zero only to find that Sailor Mercury had hacked his computer system. He was interrupted on deciding what to do next by the arrival of Nagai. Who had come to bring Tanizaki a summary of the latest developments in place of the injured Zhang. Upon being informed about what happened to Ekim he raced to the infirmary. Knowing that Ekim would most likely not survive he left to go check on Zhang. When Unit Zero returned Tanizaki had his scientist exam her and was furious to learn that her synchronization ratio with the Silver Crystal had decreased. Even more so when he learned that Sailor Moon was still alive. As punishment he reinforced his loyalty. Later Tanizaki called a conference to determine their next step which only Nagai attended since he was the only one either alive or uninjured. Knowing they didn’t have time to recoup their loses Tanizaki had Nagai assemble a press conference. Tanizaki claimed that the Senshi attacked his skyscraper unprovoked getting the government to deployed the JSDF to aid him in their defeat. Chapter 15: Dreams for Tomorrow Using the information taken by Sailor Mercury Helios exposed Tanizaki Heavy Industries’ secrets to the people of Japan. Tanizaki was watching news feeds of the various protest when Nagai arrived. After telling Nagai to calm down Tanizaki ordered Unit Zero to kill Helios so that they could regain control over the narrative. Needless to say when Zero woke up on a laboratory bed with a scream of horror Tanizaki was disappointed. While he knew it was a gamble to begin with he punished her for her failure. The next day Nagai related the latest status reports causing Tanizaki to feel the raging fury burning inside of him as Nagai reported how much his corporate infrastructure was breaking down. Keeping his cool Tanizaki decided that their only plan of action was to go on the offensive so ordered Nagai to free the Wyrmspawn. After Zhang recovered he made his way to Tanizaki who explained his plan to have him take advantage of the chaos unleashed by releasing the Wyrmspawn and remaining Synths to infiltrate, find out where Sailor Moon was, and dispose of her. Chapter 16: Men and Monsters Tanizaki went to the Adachi Ward to thank Murata Rikuto to thank him for his work on the prototype weapon he was going to use on the Senshi. When Rikuto expressed his worry that the Senshi might have a way to retaliate Tanizaki brought out the residents of the surrounding homes to use as human shields. Deciding to attack them then while their guard was down he was disappointed the energy cannon's blast wasn’t fast enough to incapacitate Saturn or Ryoga. So as the weapon recharged he waited for his Synth army to attack. After the Wyrmspawn was unleashed despite his trap he became worried at how organized the Senshi were in dealing with it. A surge of anger ran through him at the thought that his ploy had been anticipated and ordered every Synth to be retargeted. When the Wyrmspawn had been neutralized he ordered every Balor class Synth to target the building it was with as much saturation fire as they can bring to bear. Saturn had been blocking every shot they’d fired, but Rikuto felt they caught a break when she left to help Ryoga against the Wyrmspawn. When was why he became frustrated when she still blocked the next attack. Tanizaki realized that she realized the timing of the attack so ordered Rikuto not to fire until his signal, as well as to have a few Synths to divert from the main assault. Right before they were ready to fire they were stopped by the arrival of Genma. Using the Umisenken Genma disabled the computer by slamming Rikuto's head into his, then began taking out the guards. Tanizaki had everyone still conscious move to his field of vision as he tried to figure out where the attacks were coming from. Then told them to fire the cannon manually. With no way to get close with Tanizaki watching like a hawk Genma attempted to throw a brick only for him to lauch a ki blast where it had been fired from, which Genma barely dodged. Tanizaki then goaded Genma into attacking by purposely leaving himself open. Tanizaki had developed a counter for stealth techniques. It was an exchange of blows Tanizaki could not avoid Genma's attack completely, but he was able to turn it into a glancing blow, while his hit was much more solid it did not land dead-on either. Tanizaki focused, his every sense on high alert as the reined in his fury due to how precarious his position was. Abandoning all stealth Genma grabbed a guard put his gi on them and threw him at Tanizaki, then used the distraction to attack. Tanizaki managed to react in time, but this proved to jest be another distraction allowing Genma to use the Human Battle Aura technique to destroy the cannon. Despite Tanizaky breaking his arms and legs when he broke free Genma confidentially told him that Ranma would defeat him. Those words caused something in Tanizaki to snap and after savagely beating Genma to a bloody pulp he broke his neck. Chapter 17: Before the Dawn Disgusted with himself how much he had lost control Tanizaki composed himself then told him men to salvage anything they could and bring it back to the skyscraper. While he hoped that Ranma would be dead he refused to underestimate again. When reminded of the hostages for a second his rage rose to the surface again before he quashed it and told him guards to release them. After his disastrous attack Tanizaki’s political and media control became essentially non-existent as no amount of bribery or blackmail could compel public figures to give support to someone responsible for erasing an entire Special Ward of Tokyo off the face of the map. Even the illegal parts of his network were cutting their ties. This combined with Zhang being injured and the Wyrmspawn being killed just left Tanizaki repeatedly wondering over and over again how they did it. Tanizaki was called down top the lobby where Hagiwara Daiji told him about a nurse who took his gun and shot herself in the head after he was about to let her go get her daughter. Realizing that she was the nurse tending to Ekim Tanizaki told his guards to seal off the building and use lethal force if anyone else displayed the same symptoms before racing off to Ekim’s treatment room. Seeing the dead bodies and blood ruin’s Tanizaki made himself known. He realized it wasn’t Ekim when the Nameless One attempted to attack him. Desperate he made a deal Tanizaki agreed to release the Nameless One but only at the time and place of his choosing. Seeing that the being at least grasped the circumstances on some level Tanizaki left with half the artifacts. The next step was getting the Senshi where he wanted them. He accomplished this by holding a press conference where hetook responsibility for the destruction of the Minato Ward and promised that there would be even more destruction to come if Sailor Moon was not surrendered to him within a week. He then dragging out Genma’s dead body and manhandled it as an example of the futility of any heroics. Much to his surprise Ranma didn’t fall for the bait so when Zhang greeted him in his cavernous penthouse office the two discussed their next plan of action. Since the citizens of the Shinjuku Ward were evacuating due to his threat Tanizaki had him ment move the Nameless One’s alter there then ordered Zhang to go find the nurse’s daughter as they still needed a sacrifice. Later that night, Tanizaki stood on the wide, flat rooftop of his skyscraper with Zero standing behind him, fearfully awaiting his command. When he was informed that senshi were making their move. Chapter 18: The Final Gambit Tanizaki was standing on his skyscrapers roof looking out across the city to where the cataclysmic battle against the Nameless One raged, Unit Zero stood at his side, clad in her black leotard when Ranma, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen arrived. Ranma remained calm despite Tanizaki’s attempts at goading him while Sailor Moon just ignored him and attempted once more to reason with Zero only to quickly be stopped by Tazinaki who ordered the clone to kill her. Even with the clone holding the tighter connection to the Silver Crystal, the true Sailor Moon was still far more adept at its use. Despite fighting at a disadvantage in the tug-of-war over the crystal's magic, she was able to transform into her Eternal Moon Princess form. In desperation Zero attempted to duplicate Sailor Moon's feat by brute force resulting in violent bloody transformation. Ignoring the pain Zero was about to attack only to be tackled by Moon and yanked skyward as the impact propelled them both off the roof. Unlike Tuxedo Kamen Ranma and Tanizaki did not take their attention off the other for even a moment. Coming back from the roofs edge Kamen drew a rose into one hand and readied his cane in the other only to stopped by Ranma who told him not to interfere. Though hesitant Kamen decided to trust Ranma as well. Before the sound of the first impact even registered in Tuxedo Kamen's ears they had exchanged more blows than he could count—punches, kicks, palm strikes, elbow smashes and even more, hammering at each other from every angle. Each attack led into the next as the two of them fought to control the flow of the battle, and to disrupt their enemy's attempts to do the same. This was, without question, two masters at the very pinnacle of their art, each pushing themselves beyond all normal limits in their attempt to kill the other. Ranma used his rage at Genma’s death to fuel his offensive without letting it cloud his judgement. Tanizaki found himself forced to give ground as the tactics that had given him the advantage in their previous fight were of no use anymore. Despite this Tanizaki was confident in his ability to wear Ranma down. It wasn’t until the Senshi defeated the Nameless one that Kamen spoke up by telling Tanizaki that Sailor Moon would win. Ranma spoke up as well when Tanizaki reminded them that Unit Zero had already defeated her once. Even if they didn’t know what she was planning they both had complete and utter faith in Sailor Moon as despite Unit Zero having the advantage Moon was fighting to save her. Tanizaki recognized the pattern of the Hiryu Shoten Ha and attempted to break the spiral before Ranma could deliver the corkscrew uppercut required to create the whirlwind. However, that turned out to be a faint so that Ranma could perform the Tenryu Tonan. Seeing Ranma drop to his knees as convulsive spasms wracking his body Kamen went to his aid. As Ranma was explaining that it was just the after effects Tanizaki despite laying in a crumpled heap rose his hand and fired a ki bolt at the immobilized Ranma’s heart. Before it could hit Tuxedo Kamen hurled himself forward, reaching a speed that exceeded anything Ranma had seen from him. He slammed into Ranma, knocking him away in a roll. At the cost of Tanizaki's bolt hitting him instead. Ranma could just watch as the pale lance of energy tore through Tuxedo Kamen's chest near his left shoulder. With a cry of pain his dive became a tumble, finally coming to a rest in a gradually-widening pool of his own blood. Rolling unsteadily back to a kneeling position at an angle Tanizaki could not easily target from where he lay. He was dumbstruck as all of Tanizaki’s injuries began to heal. Tanizaki congratulated Ranma on being only the seventh person to push him enough to reveal that he was immortal. He attacked the weakened Ranma mercilessly who did all that he could to survive from moment to moment as Tanizaki used him as a punching bag. He stopped when he sensed the arrival of Sailor Moon. Furious that Unit Zero lost he tried to break Ranma’s neck who ended up falling off the edge when he dodged. Kamen tried to warn Moon of Tanizaki’s immortality only to be kicked in the chest. Seeing this she uses all her power to incinerate his very atoms before going to check on Kamen who only had enough strength to warn her. Tanizaki used a pressure point to incapacitate her so her could take the crystal. When he realizes Usagi broke the Silver Crystal to give part of it to Unit Zero, thus thwarting forever any plans he has of controlling that power, he decides to simply kill Sailor Moon in the slowest, most painful way he can devise (and given his skill, he could no doubt take days doing it). He's interrupted by Ranma and company, which only enrages him further, as they're the ones who are responsible for his plans coming apart in the first place, resolving to torture each of them and anyone they know to death. It was clear that that the exhausted trio were no match for Tanizaki so as they fought Ranma scoured his brain for everything he knew about Tanizaki, searching his memories for every detail, no matter how slight for some way for him, Ryouga and Mousse to beat this endlessly regenerating foe. Eventually remembered the Tanizaki from Chibi-Usa’s timeline and realized that he was Death Phantom. Tanizaki tried to bluff that this knowledge meant nothing even when Ranma figured out that the crystal ball was his weakness. However, Ranma realized from his he couldn’t go that far from the ball. Seeing Mousse used his senses to try and search for the ball Ranma and Ryouga moved to intercept when Tanizaki attempted to kill him. Once he sensed he used a Warhammer to crash through the roof. Throwing Ranma and Ryoga off of him he threw himself at the blind weaponmaster. While he was able to reach the crystal in time he couldn’t put a scratch on it allowing Tanizaki to catch up. As he was mercilessly beaten all he could do was wrap himself around the crystal ball. Luckily he was rescued by the arrival of Ranma and Ryoga. Before destroying the crystal ball Ryoga told the confused Tanizaki that everything Death Phantom had told him was wrong. The Breaking Point didn’t shatter the sphere but ripped it apart with an eruption of force as the magic within it burst free. Both Ryoga and Tanizaki were flung away from each other while Tanizaki crashed into the wall Ryoga flew through the empty space where the windows had been and began the long tumble earthward. Shocked at the realization that his immortality was gone and he was now like every other ordinary human. Tanizaki was brought out of it by Ranma’s mocking voice. Fueled with rage he tore into Ranma like a rabid dog whose response was no less violent. Only this time Tanizaki no longer had his overwhelming advantage. They pounded away at each other, heedless of pain, heedless of weariness, each consumed by the absolute determination to see the other fall. Ranma finishes Tanizaki for good by sending the both of them flying out of the skyscraper, which is followed by Ranma demonstrating the main specialty of Anything Goes, mid-air combat. However, Ranma disagreed he felt Tanizaki took the easy route, using magic and ancient relics to gain power he didn't earn on his own. Personality The primary antagonists of The Dark Lords Ascendant, Tanizaki Kazuo's plans are often intricate and Machiavellian. While his behavior is often ruthless and amoral, he's a polite, soft-spoken intellectual, often addressing his subordinates by their given names. He rarely shows any sign of alarm or distress, and often has entire situations planned out well in advance. Whenever confronted, Kazuo is casual and uncaring, attempting to draw out a conversation and make small talk. He is obsessed with obtaining power, to this end he collects magical artifacts like baseball cards, to try and pick them apart to see what he can get out of them. He has no qualms about stealing, defacing sacred and historical landmarks, or experimenting on sentient beings. He even goes so far as building a spaceship so that he can searcg other planets for ways to make himself more powerful. Perhaps Kazuo' greatest strength is the fact that is a very crafty and a cunning man. He can deceive and manipulate others around him in different ways for a variety of purposes. Even when defeated his plans often work out beneficially to him in one way or another. He has a great talent for analyzing and observing everything in his presence, allowing him to understand a person's pattern of thinking and better manipulate them. He can formulate well thought out plans several steps ahead of others, some of which have a long term in mind. He is masterful at plans within plans, such as setting up Ranma and his friends as scapegoats to the Sailor Senshi. However this is also shown his greatest weakness under the façade of niceness he is a very condescending and arrogant man. Throughout the story as Ranma has repeatedly foiled his plans he’s gained increasingly common flashes of fury, that he refused to act on in order to stay in control. However, it is evident that Tanizaki is losing his cool, and getting increasingly desperate. Abilities Tanizaki is a master of the Tanizaki-style Five Fist school and has 250 years to perfect his skill. In addition Tanizaki's power base is massive. Tanizaki Heavy Industries' is less than ten percent of what he actually controls. There are countless other companies, run through false names and shell corporations. Criminal enterprises, too. He has a hand in smuggling, extortion, drugs, human trafficking, gambling, ect. Not all of his control is direct, though. He has incriminating information on politicians, celebrities, business leaders. Sometimes his agents will engineer a little bit of dirt, and use it as a lever to get the target to do something just a little bit worse so it doesn't become public. Then they'll pass that information on to other agents, and repeat the cycle. Always pulling the target further in. he hasn’t been discovered because he doesn't do most of it directly. It's boxes within boxes, chains of influence. Most of his pawns don't even know who they really work for. Tanizaki is the only one who can see it all. He's like a spider sitting at the center of its web. Except his web covers the entire world. Through bribes, threats or blackmail, he controls more than three-fourths of the National Diet, and he has a strong presence in many other world governments as well. It all stretches back generations. His family has been using these tactics to build this shadow empire since well before the Meji era. He didn't just inherit the Tanizaki corporation. He inherited a conspiracy that's over a hundred years old. Tanizaki’s true power comes from the fact that he is immortal in EVERY sense of the word and cannot be killed even if his body is turned into ashes. This immortality is a direct effect of placing his soul into the Soul Crystal transforming him into a lich. While he can feel pain he will regenerate from any wound, no matter how severe allowing him take hits that would severely injure or kill any normal human being. This also grants him unlimited stamina. However, since his body is an empty shell animated by the Soul Crystal; the two must remain in close proximity. Category:Characters Category:Tanizaki Heavy Industries